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THE BATTLE FIELD OF SHILOH. 



Field of Shiloh, Tennessee, April 14th, 1862. 

Dear King : — I commence writing you a letter, which, I 
know, you will be glad to get ; for I mean to tell you what our 
battalion did on the 6th and 7th inst., whilst the great battle at 
this place was progressing. ********** 
Leaving Columbia, we took up the line of march for Savannah, 
a distance of eighty-two miles through a country almost unin- 
habited, and barren to the last degree. On Saturday night we 
encamped at a place seventeen miles from the latter town. 
Starting again the next morning, we had proceeded but a little 
way when the noise of the battle of that disastrous day broke 
upon our ears. As we advanced the cannonading became each 
moment more distinct. It was plain that a desperate fight was 
going on somewhere : but not one of our number dreamed that 
Grant had been attacked and was at that instant slowly losing 
ground before the enemy. Indeed the general belief was crea- 
ted by reports brought from the front that our gunboats were 
attacking some batteries at a place called Hamburg. About 
noon, however, wo began to think it possible that in some way 
or other our aid might be needed ; for we were halted in an old 
cotton field, our arms were inspected, and rations and ammuni- 
tion were issued. Still we were ignorant of the terrible conflict 
then going on, though by this time the ground fairly trembled 
under our feet with the rapid discharges of artillery. Again 
pushing on, sweltering in the hot southern sun, travelling over 
roads almost impassable and fording several streams, about dark 
we halted for a few hours at a creek three miles inland from 
Savannah. There we learned for the first time, that instead of 
a gunboat bombardment, that day had been fought at Pittsburg 



' $^ 



Landing, the bloodiest battle in which American troops were 
ever engaged. The accounts of the conflict were most cheering. 
They represented that Grant had that morning attacked the im- 
mense army under Albert Sidney Johnson and Beauregard, 
completely defeating and routing it after a desperate fight of fif- 
teen hours duration. The cannon we continued to hear at inter- 
vals were said to be those hurried forward in pursuit of the fly- 
ing enemy. You may be sure we were jubilant at this news ; 
although we declaimed somewhat against the selfishness that 
precipitated the engagement and won the victory before Buell's 
column had an opportunity to take a part. Little did we dream 
that so far from having gained a triumph, Grant's force was then 
defeated and panic-stricken, with an insolent foe occupying most 
of his camps, and that the morrow would introduce us to scenes 
of carnage the mere imagination of which sickens the heart. 

It was quite dark, though still early in the night, when we 
moved on again. The men were in the best of spirits, rude wit- 
ticisms, laughter and snatches of song ran along the whole line. 
Here and there some fellow boasted of the gallant deeds he 
would have performed had he been in the day's engagement. 
The officers, on the other hand, were more quiet than usual. 
They marched in silence or gathered in little knots and conver- 
sed in whispers. At length, the town of Savannah was enter- 
ed. Every house in the place seemed to be illuminated ; for 
each had been converted into an hospital and was packed from 
attic to basement with the dying and wounded who had been 
conveyed thither by the steamer. 

Groans and cries of pain saluted our ears from all the buildings 
we passed. Through the windows, the sash of which were re- 
moved to give air to the injured, we could see the surgeons 
plying their horrid profession. The atmosphere was that of a 
vast dissecting room. The streets were crowded with ambu- 
lances, baggage trains, parties bearing the victims of the fight 
on stretchers, on rails, on rude litters of muskets and on their 
shoulders, and with batteries of artillery and long lines of infan- 
try waiting tn be taken to the scene of the struggle. The confu- 
sion everywhere visible, the shouting, cursing, quarrelling, beg- 
gars description. Teams of mules, abandoned by their drivers 
ran away trampling down every thing in their course. Quar- 
termasters rode about at furious pace trying to extricate their 
transportation from the general mass. Doctors, one hand full 
of instruments, the other of bandages, and covered with blood, 
wildly rushed through the immense crowd in search of addition- 
al subjects of their art. Still, from all that could be gathered, 



the idea appeared to be that we had achieved a great victory. 
No one could exactly tell the events of the day ; but the fact of 
our decisive triumph was unquestioned. The falsity of this 
common opinion every reader of the newspapers already knows. 
Getting on board the " Hiawatha," by midnight we were plough- 
ing the turbid Tennessee river en route for Pittsburg Landing, 
by water a distance of fourteen miles. From the officers of the 
steamer we got other accounts of the battle, which we after- 
wards ascertained to be correct. Their statements were, that 
Johnson and Beauregard, hoping to destroy Grant before he 
was joined by Buell, then close at hand, made a furious attack 
upon him, in great strength, that Sunday morning immediately 
after daylight. There is some dispute whether or not we had 
outposts ; those who mantain we had, admit that they were play- 
ing cards at the time of the assault. At all events our troops 
were completely and criminally surprised. Unable to form to 
resist the onslaught, hundreds of them were mercilessly shot 
down in their tents and company streets. Those who escaped 
fled in the greatest terror through the camps in their rear, 
spreading the panic and closely followed by the successful foe. 
At least two miles of the ground occupied by our forces was thus 
abandoned before the regiments near the river could be brought 
to present a front to the rebels. A temporary check was then 
given to the enemy's impetuous advance, but being strongly 
reinforced they pushed our army slowly and surely towards the 
landing. During the whole day the battle raged with violence. 
Several corps of our volunteers behaved with great gallantry ; 
but others ran at the first fire, and with those surprised in the 
morning (at least ten thousand men), could not again be brought 
into action. But the Secessionists steadily gained upon us. 
Seven batteries of our light artillery and a large number of our 
soldiers fell into their hands, as well as thousands of tents, and 
immense quantities of Commissary and Quartermaster's stores. 
When night closed upon the struggle we were driven within 
three hundred yards of the river, and would have been pushed 
into it had not the spiteful little gunboats then been enabled to 
come to our relief. Our loss in the engagement was terrible ; 
but it was not all we suffered. At times when the fortune of 
war was most decidedly against us, the skulkers under the bluff, 
would rush in crowds to reach the steamers moored in the 
Tennessee, and by jostling and pushing each other into and 
struggling together in the water, hundreds of them were 
drowned. Little pity is felt for their fate, of course ; but still 
these help to swell the casualties of that disastrous day. 



Regaled, as wc were, daring the entire passage from Savannah 
to Pittsburg Landing, with stories of defeat and forebodings of 
what would occur the next day, you may be certain that we 
were not as comfortable as if we were in the old barracks. It 
was plain to the dullest comprehension that McCook's, Nelson's 
and Crittenden's divisions of Buell's army, then arrived at the 
scene of action, would have work enough to do early in the 
morning, and that too against an enemy flushed with recent 
victory. It seemed like folly to hope for success; for our 
strength did not exceed thirty thousand. From Grant's badly 
beaten and demoralized force we expected nothing, unless it 
was a mere show of numbers. On the other hand, the rebels 
were estimated at from 60,000 to 80,000. These considerations 
did not do much to inspirit, whilst throughout the night our 
anxiety was kept alive, and our consciousness of the immediate 
presence of the foe not permitted to slumber, by the regular 
tiring from the gunboats upon the camps of the enemy close 
beside those of our own. 

At daybreak on Monday the 7th inst. our battalion was dis- 
embarked. Forcing its way with difficulty through the vast 
crowd of fugitives from the previous day's fight gathered on the 
river bank, we scrambled up the bluff in the best way we could, 
and formed in the camp of the Missouri Artillery. Here there 
were more refugees, their officers riding among them and urg- 
ing them to rally, but without the least success. I never 
witnessed such abject fear as these fellows exhibited. Without 
a single avenue of escape in the event of defeat, they were 
unable, even, to muster up the desperation of cornered cowards. 
It is said that several in high command set them the example 
of pusillanimity. As we moved among them they inquired 
"what regiment is that?" " 15th Regulars," replied some of our 
men. "Well, you'll catch regular hell to-day," was their re- 
joinder. Others said, "Boys, "it's of no use; we were beaten 
yesterday and you'll be beaten now." But still our men got 
into line well, and were marched by the right flank a \'v\v hun- 
dred yards to the place where the action of the previous day 
had ended. Here Capt. Swaine and Major King joined us, 
knapsacks were unslung, and we made the final preparations for 
the conflict we knew to be imminent. Being informed thai we 
were the reserve of Rosseau's Brigade, we were slowly moved 
forward in column at half distance, through camps our troops 
had abandoned in the fight of the Gth inst. Other corps, all the 
while were passing us on either side, and disappearing from 



view in a clip of ground in front, but as yet the engagement 
had not begun. 

Let me try, at this point, to give you as good an idea of the 
field of battle as I am able. The Tennessee river at Pittsburg 
Landing, describes a considerable curve ; in the neck formed by 
this bend and some distance outside of it were the camps of 
Gen. Grant's command. On the morning of the 7th, the rebels 
were posted some distance inside of the ground formerly occu- 
pied by us, so that the line of conflict was pretty nearly straight 
between the two remote points of the semi-circle. Nelson's 
division was on our extreme left, resting on the river; Crit- 
tenden was next to him on his right, then came McCook in the 
centre, and joined to him was McClernard, who had other of 
Grant's generals beyond him. This order continued unbroken 
until the struggle was over. 

Nelson and Crittenden's commands having passed the left 
flank of our battalion speedily became engaged. A few scatter- 
ing shots were heard from their direction, which were soon 
followed by such heavy firing of small arms that it was plain 
our men had found the enemy. The field artillery also broke 
in with its thunder, increasing the din already so great that it 
was difficult to hear one's self speak. As further evidence that 
the battle had begun in earnest, a mounted officer dashed by 
crying, " bring on the ambulances," and those vehicles were at 
once taken to the front, to return in a few minutes laden with 
mangled freight. Other wounded men, some on foot, others 
carried by their comrades, likewise now came to the rear. From 
these Ave learned that Nelson and Crittenden, although suffer- 
ing severely, were steadily pushing the rebels back, a story 
attested by the frequent cheers that arose from their gallant 
fellows. 

A sharp firing that now took place almost immediately in our 
front, showed that the left and centre of our (McCook's) Divi- 
sion, had got into action, and that the battle was rapidly becom- 
ing general. Our battalion was instantly deployed into line to 
receive the foe, should the troops in advance give way. While 
in this position, Generals Buell and Rosseau rode up, ordered 
us to proceed to the right of the brigade, which was the right 
of the division, and be ready for any emergency, and to send 
out at the same time a company of skirmishers to provoke an 
attack. This converted us from a reserve into an assaulting 
party. 

Forming in column by division on the first, we marched by 
the right flank to the, position we were to occupy, Captain 



Haughey, with his command, being thrown forward to feel the 
enemy. (I will state here that battalions of the 16th and 19th 
regiments IT. S. Infantry, the whole under Major John H. King, 
were with us and shared in all our operations.) At this place 
we again deployed, then moved by the right of companies to 
the front, until a little hill between us and the rebels was sur- 
mounted, when we were again brought into line. Rapid 
discharges of small arms forward of our left flank, now showed 
that our skirmishers were successful in their search. Again we 
were advanced, until having gained some distance, we were 
ordered to lie close to the ground. Immediately we were 
exposed to a cannonade and fire of musketry, whose severity 
denes description. From three batteries and their strong sup- 
port of infantry just before us, masked by the underbrush, came 
a shower of grape, canister, spherical case, rifle balls, <fcc, that 
would have swept every one of us away had we been standing 
on our feet. An examination I have since made of the ground 
exhibits the fact that every tree and sapling bears the marks of 
shot. Protecting ourselves as we did our loss was still severe. 
Among the injured were Capt. Acker of the 16th, killed, and 
Capt. Peterson of the 15th, wounded in the head. As yet, as I 
have said before, the foe was concealed in the thick woods so 
that we could not see them ; but now, emboldened, perhaps, by 
what they supposed their irresistible attack, they emerged from 
their cover. Never did they commit a more fatal mistake. 
Our men, restrained by their officers, bad not discharged a piece 
up to this time. But now each coolly marked his man ; and 
when Capt. Swaine, in a voice that could be heard along the 
whole line, gave the command to fire, our Springfield rifles dealt 
a destruction that was awful. After pelting the rebels a little 
while longer, we again moved forward to tin 1 sound of the bugle, 
taking to the earth once more when the enemy opened upon us. 
Here Lieut. Mitchell of the 16th was killed, and Lieut. Lyster 
of the 19th, and 1st Sergeants Williams and Kiggins of the 15th 
dangerously wounded. Halting a few moments to reply, we 
moved down upon the traitors a third time, subjected the while 
to a fearful storm of missiles, by which ('apt. Curtiss and Lieut. 
YVykoff of the 15th were very severely hurt, and 1st Sergeant 
Killing of the same corps instantly killed. But at length the 
artillery of the enemy, that hail been playing upon us so long, 
came in sight. Hastily fixing bayonets, we charged upon it at 
a double-quick, ('apt. Keteltas of the 15th being then shot 
through the body. Unable to withstand our desperate assault, 
the rebel cannoneers abandoned their guns, and with the infantry 



supports fled across an open space into the woods beyond. An 
opportunity offered at this point to ascertain the havoc we had 
done. Every horse in each piece and caisson lay dead in his 
harness, and the ground was covered with the killed and dying. 
Among the latter was the chief of the Artillery. As we came 
up, he said, " You have slain all my men and cattle, and you 
may take the battery and be damned." But we had not leisure 
to stop and talk with him or any other person ; for we were 
already being fired upon from the new covert of the foe. 
Pushing forward amid great danger across the field, we gained 
the edge of the timber, and continued the fight in which we had 
then been engaged for more than five hours. 

The foregoing was the state of affairs at high noon. Let us 
pause a moment to see what was the condition of the battle 
field at that hour. There was no fighting on the right or centre ; 
indeed it had not been severe in that quarter during the day. 
On the left, Nelson and Crittenden having repulsed the enemy, 
were resting on their arms ; for the foe in their front had 
mysteriously disappeared. Our three battalions were the only 
troops then hotly engaged. You inquire, "where were the 
rest of the rebels?" That is just what I propose telling you. 
Leaving only enough of men before the other divisions to mask 
their purpose, they were engaged massing their troops, those 
that had been engaged as well as their reserves, for an over- 
whelming onslaught upon the right of our centre, where we 
had contested all morning without support. I think it possible 
that Gen. Rosseau suspected their scheme ; for whilst we strove 
in the edge of the timber, two regiments of volunteers took 
position on our right, and a section of a battery quietly unlimbered 
on our left. Scarcely were these dispositions completed, when 
down upon us came the enemy, pouring in a withering, stag- 
gering fire, that compelled the regiments just mentioned to 
break and fly, in such confusion that they could not be rallied 
again. This panic not only left us alone to sustain the dreaded 
onset, but in addition, put us in extraordinary peril by the total 
exposure of our left flank. The occasion was indeed critical. 
But before the enemy could take any advantage of the condition 
of things, Capt. Swaine averted the danger by causing our bat- 
talion to change front, thus giving the 15th, 16th, and 19th the 
form of two sides of a triangle. Here we fought for a time 
that seemed interminable, holding the rebel force in check, until 
Col. Gibson's Brigade, hastily brought up to our relief, assisted 
by a flanking attack from Nelson and Crittenden's divisions, 
started the foe in the retreat, that shortly became a rout. 



8 

Falling back, then, only long enough to replenish our ammuni- 
tion, we joined in the pursuit, keeping it up notwithstanding 
our exhausted condition, until we got beyond the line of the 
camps captured from our troops the day before. 

I do not undertake to say what body of troops engaged in 
the battle of Shiloh, is entitled to the most honor. But I 
unhesitatingly assert that the 1st Battalion of the 15th U. S. 
Infantry did its whole duty. For seven hours it fought with- 
out ceasing, that, too, after it had marched seventeen miles the 
day before, and been deprived of sleep the night previous. And 
when the dreadful attack upon our centre was made, which 
caused Willich's German veterans to scatter like cattle upon a 
thousand hills, it still stood up to its work as though there was 
no such word as defeat in its lexicon. Throughout the struggle. 
Major King, Capt. Swaine, and the company officers, conducted 
themselves with great gallantry. In our company, nine men 
are killed and wounded. The loss of the command is sixty- 
three. Curtenius escaped without a scratch. 

Dr. Parry informs me that our loss in killed and wounded 
will not fall short of nine thousand men, and may exceed that 
number. From what 1 have seen myself, I give the fullest 
credence to his statement. On the evening of the engagement, 
the dead were everywhere. There never has been such carnage 
on this continent. I trust 1 may never again see anything of 
the kind. 

The battle was fought in the woods, which were as service- 
able to the enemy as fortifications. You may travel for a day 
around here and you will scarcely find a tree, sapling or twig, 
that has not been struck by a bullet. How any of us escaped 
is more than 1 can imagine. 

w. w. w. 



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